


Another Kind of Hope

by Skyrissian (ErinacchiLove)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Luke and Leia Switched, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Jedi Leia Organa, M/M, POV Alternating, Pre-Femslash, Pre-Relationship, Prince Luke Skywalker, References to Canon, Self-Indulgent, also Lando and Han switched
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-21 16:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18705637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinacchiLove/pseuds/Skyrissian
Summary: In a period of a galactic civil war, the brave Rebel Alliance has won their first victory against the Galactic Empire and stolen the plans of the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star.When the starship of Prince Luke Organa, who is transporting the plans, falls under the Empire's attack, the future of the galaxy depends on two droids carrying the secret plans and their new owner, a farm girl named Leia Skywalker.





	Another Kind of Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [There Is Another](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10597686) by [stitchy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stitchy/pseuds/stitchy). 



> This is a fic I've wanted to write for a long time, probably ever since I read stitchy's amazing comic There Is Another (which served as inspiration and as irreplaceable help when I needed to check lines and the order of the happenings at times when I couldn't watch Episode IV). So, thank you stitchy for the inspiration ♥
> 
> Big thanks also to my amazing artist, [sithsoka](https://sithsoka.tumblr.com/) ([the illustrations](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18706348)), and my wonderful beta, [happygiraffe](https://happygiraffe.tumblr.com/). It was such a pleasure to work with you two ♥
> 
> Dedicated to Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, and Ashley Eckstein.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

 

* * *

 

Crown Prince Luke Organa of Alderaan had been in several tight spots in his life. It wasn’t once or twice that he had almost spoken out of turn at the Imperial Senate, he was always getting in trouble back home on Alderaan, and the whole trip to Lothal a few years back was its very own can of worms. But right now he had no idea how to get out of this one. A group of stormtroopers were escorting him to a Star Destroyer that had been following his ship from Scarif. On the way Luke passed by several members of his crew, shot to death. Captain Antilles was nowhere in sight so he had probably been killed in the skirmish as well. Surely they would’ve captured him too otherwise.

     Luke kept his head held high. It wasn’t as if this had been unexpected. He had known the risks when his father had asked him to take on this mission. At least he had managed to send R2-D2 away with the plans to the Empire’s new super weapon, the Death Star, before the stormtroopers had stunned and captured him. Now it all depended on Artoo landing safely on Tatooine and finding Ahsoka Tano. Why Ahsoka Tano specifically, Luke couldn’t say, but his father had insisted, and Luke knew from experience that Viceroy Bail Organa usually knew what he was doing.

     The group was met by a tall creature clad in black. Of course. Of course the Star Destroyer was commanded by Darth Vader, the Emperor’s right-hand man (though people disagreed on whether or not he actually was a man). Luke applied an indignant expression on his face and said, “Darth Vader, only you could be this bold. You understand that the Imperial Senate will not sit still for this. When they realize you’ve attacked a diplomatic—”

     “Don’t act so surprised, Your Highness,” Vader interjected with his deep, mechanical voice. “You weren’t on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you.”

     Luke played ignorant but annoyed the best he could. “I’ve no idea of any transmissions or the rebellion. Nothing was beamed to this ship as far as I am aware. I am a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan!”

     “You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor!” Vader yelled. “Take him away!”

     As the stormtroopers took him to an elevator on their way to the Star Destroyer’s detention level, Luke sighed. This had been a complete disaster. If Artoo now failed to deliver the plans to Ahsoka Tano, he would’ve let everyone down, his father, the Rebel Alliance, his unfortunate crew, everyone. Artoo was more than capable of succeeding, but there were so many variables once he’d reach the surface of Tatooine. Luke had never been there but it was controlled by the Hutts and was largely a lawless planet.

     _Stay safe, Artoo, wherever you are_ , Luke thought as he was shoved into the cell block and the Star Destroyer took off.

 

* * *

 

Early that afternoon on a lonely moisture farm on Tatooine, young Leia Skywalker was woken from one of her rare naps by her uncle, Owen Lars. The Jawas had come to sell droids. They needed two: a translator and another to work in the field. Leia ran her hand through her pixie cut. With any luck the droids would prove efficient enough that she could finally get a job outside the farm or maybe even get off Tatooine completely.

     “Leia! Leia!”

     Leia turned around and walked back to the opening to meet the eyes of her aunt Beru.

     “Leia, tell your uncle that if he gets a translator, make sure it speaks Bocce!” Beru called.

     “Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice,” Leia answered, “but I’ll remind him!”

     Uncle Owen had already made a deal on a red-and-white astromech droid and was now haggling for a gold-plated protocol droid. A tad fancy for a farm, but from what Leia heard, the droid spoke Bocce like a second language.

     “Leia, take these two to the garage, will you?” Uncle Owen said. “I want them cleaned before dinner.”

     Leia made a face. She had already made plans to go to Tosche Station to meet Camie, one of her few friends who still hadn’t left Tatooine to attend the Imperial Academy or find work on another Outer Rim planet. Most of her friends and other people her age had left already. But Uncle Owen wasn’t in the mood for persuasion, so Leia sighed and gestured the astromech and the protocol droid to follow her down to the garage. She’d try again at dinner.

     Right before getting inside Leia heard sounds of cracking. The red astromech droid had short-circuited. Great.

     “Uncle Owen?” Leia called.

     “Yeah?” Owen answered.

     “This R2 unit has a bad motivator, look!”

     Owen turned to the Jawas, asking them what they were trying to sell. The protocol droid patted Leia’s shoulder.

     “Excuse me, miss,” he said, “but that blue R2 unit is in prime condition, a real bargain.”

     Well, fair enough. “Uncle Owen, what about that blue one?”

     Uncle Owen nodded and told the Jawas they were getting the blue R2 unit instead.

     “You’ll be very pleased with that one, Miss,” said the protocol droid. “He really is in first-class condition. I’ve worked with him before. Here he comes.”

     The blue R2 unit rolled over and made some beeps that sounded pleased.

     “Okay, let’s go,” Leia said to the two droids and took them down to the garage.

     The protocol droid sounded delighted to get an oil bath, and he really needed one. By the looks of him he had wandered around Tatooine's endless desert for a good while.

     “Thank the maker,” the droid said. “I’ve got such a bad case of dust contamination in my circuits, I can’t even tell which planet I’m on.”

     Leia looked up at the droid. “This is Tatooine, and if there’s a bright center of the galaxy, you’re about as far from it as you can get.”

     “I see, Miss.”

     Leia laughed at the formality. “Just call me Leia.”

     “I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations,” the protocol droid introduced himself. “And this is my counterpart, R2-D2.”

     “Nice to meet you,” Leia answered, trying to get some very persistent dust off Artoo. “Looks like you two have endured a lot, getting here.”

     “With all we’ve been through,” Threepio said, “sometimes I’m amazed we’re in as good condition as we are, what with the rebellion and all.”

     Leia’s attention shot instantly from Artoo to Threepio. “You two know about the rebellion against the Empire?”

     “That’s how we came to be in your service, if you take my meaning, Miss,” Threepio answered.

     Artoo beeped in agreement.

     “Have you been in many battles?” Leia asked.

     “Several, I think,” Threepio said. “Actually, there’s not much to tell. I’m not much more than an interpreter and not very good at telling stories.”

     Leia nodded and got back to cleaning Artoo. She made a face. “Well, Artoo, looks like you’ve got a pretty bad jam here. So were you two on a Starcruiser or—”

     Leia was thrown back by her brisk attempt to get the jam off, and the same moment Artoo produced a blue hologram of a young man dressed in what Leia assumed were originally a white cloak and fatigues.

     “ _Help me, Ahsoka Tano. You’re my only hope_ ,” the hologram repeated over and over again.

     “What is this?” Leia asked.

     Artoo beeped as a response.

     “‘What is what’?” Threepio said and took a surprisingly indignant tone. “She asked you a question. What is that?”

     The hologram kept repeating the same words. Artoo beeped again.

     “He says it’s nothing, Miss,” Threepio translated. “Merely a malfunction. Old data. Pay it no mind”

     “Who is that guy?” Leia asked. “Sounds like he’s in trouble.”

     “I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, Miss,” Threepio answered. “I think he was a passenger in our last voyage. A politician, I believe. Our captain was attached—”

     “Is there any more of this recording?” Leia interjected.

     Artoo beeped in a manner that could only mean a objection.

     “Behave yourself, Artoo,” Threepio chastised the astromech. “You’re going to get us into trouble. It’s all right, we can trust her. She’s our new mistress.”

     Artoo beeped and whistled.

    “He says that he’s the property of Ahsoka Tano, a resident of these parts, and it’s a private message for her,” Threepio said. “Quite frankly, Miss, I don’t know what he’s talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles. But with all we’ve been through, this little R2 unit has become a bit eccentric.”

     Leia rubbed her chin. “Ahsoka Tano, huh? Well, that can’t be just a coincidence then.”

     Threepio turned back at Leia. “I beg your pardon, Miss, but do you know what he’s talking about?”

     Leia got up from the floor. “Well, there is an Ashla Tano living out beyond the Dune Sea. She’s kind of a strange old hermit, leaves every now and then. Could be related to Ahsoka, or it’s a fake name.” She glanced at the hologram again. “I wonder who that is. Sounds like he really needs help. I better reel back the whole thing.”

     Leia leaned in to replay the message, but Artoo stopped her with a couple of very stern beeps.

     “He says the restraining bolt has short-circuited his recording system,” Threepio said. “He suggests that if you remove the bolt, he might be able to play back the entire recording.”

     Leia nodded and took a screwdriver from her tool kit. “I guess you’re too small to run away on me if I take this off,” she said to Artoo and started to pull the restraining bolt off. “There you go.”

     The same moment the restraining bolt came off the hologram vanished.

     “Wait a minute, what happened?” Leia asked. “Hey, play back the entire message!”

     Artoo whistled.

     “‘What message’?” Threepio repeated and smacked Artoo. “The one you’ve just been playing! The one you’re carrying inside your rusty innards!”

     They were interrupted by Aunt Beru calling for Leia. Oh, was it dinner time already? Where had the afternoon gone?

     “Coming right over, Aunt Beru!” Leia answered.

     “I’m so sorry, Miss,” Threepio said, “but Artoo appears to have picked up a slight flutter.”

     Leia nodded and pointed at her tool kit. “See what you can do with him. I’ll be right back after dinner.”

 

* * *

 

Leia walked over the yard to the small dining room of the Lars homestead. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were already there. Leia sat down and took the bowl of stew Aunt Beru handed her. She sat down, running her hand through her hair. The hologram and the words _“Help me, Ahsoka Tano, you’re my only hope”_ haunted her.

     “You know, I think that R2 unit might’ve been stolen,” Leia told Owen.

     Owen raised an eyebrow at her. “What makes you think that?”

     “I stumbled across an old holo while I was cleaning him,” Leia said. “He says he belongs to Ahsoka Tano. I wonder if he means old Ashla of the Dune Sea. Do you have any idea?”

     Owen made a disgruntled sound. “That crazy old witch. Tomorrow, I want you to take that R2 unit to Anchorhead and have its memory wiped. It belongs to us now, that’ll be the end of it.”

     “But what if this Ahsoka comes looking for him?” Leia argued.

     Owen shook his head. “She won’t. Last I heard she had got injured in some odd fight in a star system far from here. She must be dead now. Surprised she didn’t die when your parents did.”

     Leia looked up from her dinner. “She knew my parents?”

     “I told you to forget it,” Owen sighed. “Your only concern is to prepare those new droids for tomorrow. In the morning I want them up there on the south ridge working on those condensers.”

     “Yeah,” Leia mumbled at her bowl, taking a few bites of her stew before looking up again. “Hey, so… can I go out tonight? I’ve finished with all my chores and Camie asked me out this morning.”

     Beru opened her mouth but Owen beat her to it.

     “You have to wake up early tomorrow, Leia. I can’t have you all tired on the field after a night of gallivanting around with the Marstrap girl. She’s a bad influence.”

     Leia groaned. Not this again! She was an adult, and Camie had been her friend for a long time. Sure, they got in trouble every now and then, but she wasn’t a bad person. Suddenly Leia found she had lost her appetite and got up.

     “Where are you going?” Aunt Beru asked.

     “Nowhere, by the looks of it,” Leia answered and walked out of the dining space. She vaguely heard Beru comment, “Leia’s just not a farmer, Owen. She has too much of her father in her.”

     “That’s what I'm afraid of,” Owen answered.

     Leia walked up to watch the famous binary sunset of Tatooine. The two suns painted the sky in many shades of soft purple. Leia watched it for a while, like she had done for many years now, until it started to get dark and she headed back to the garage. What she wouldn't give to just get out of this place.

     The lights were off in the garage and as Leia moved to turn them back on, Threepio showed up, flailing his arms.

     “It wasn’t my fault, Miss! Please don’t deactivate me!” the droid begged, sounding as panicked as a droid could. “I told him not to go but he kept babbling on about his ‘mission’!”

     Leia stared at Threepio for a moment before she understood what he meant. Blast it! If Artoo was still gone in the morning, Uncle Owen would never let Leia hear the end of it!

     Leia grabbed a pair of binoculars and ran outside to scan the area. Night had fallen and Artoo was nowhere in sight. He had to have left right after Leia had gone to eat. Leia cursed and went to get her speeder, the one thing she owned that she could call luxury. Artoo couldn’t have got far yet. Leia bent down to check the engine for sand left in it from the last time she had been out with it.

     “Leia?” came Aunt Beru’s voice from the doorway. “What are you doing?”

     Leia looked up at her aunt. “Please don’t tell Uncle Owen, but one of the droids, the astromech, ran off. I’m gonna go after him.”

     “This time at night?” Aunt Beru asked. “It’s dangerous, Leia! Can’t it wait until morning? It’s too dangerous with the Sandpeople around!”

     Leia sighed. “I know, but if I don’t go now, who knows in what condition we’ll find Artoo in the morning?”

     “Leia,” Beru said and took the girl's hand, “I know you worry, but we lost your grandmother Shmi to a Sandpeople attack. So please, just wait until the suns are up. I will cover for you in the morning but please, don’t go now. For me?”

     Leia made a face, but she also knew that Aunt Beru was right. Besides, the terrain was difficult. Artoo wouldn’t make it far even if he kept going the whole night and didn’t run into trouble.

     “Okay,” Leia said finally. “I’ll wait for dawn.”

     Beru hugged Leia. “Thank you. I’m sure the droid will be fine. Sandpeople don’t generally care about them.”

 

* * *

 

In the morning when Leia sneaked back to her speeder with Threepio, she found a basket full of blue milk cheese sandwiches and a small package of cookies in the front seat. Aunt Beru once again proved that she thought of everything. Leia smiled at the basket, helped Threepio climb in, and finally they were able to take off and find Artoo.

     They reached the Beggar’s Canyon in the blistering heat of Tatooine’s twin suns with no sign of the astromech droid, and it was nowhere near the midday yet. Leia groaned and kept going until a red dot started to blink in the scanner.

     “About time,” Leia said to Threepio. “A droid on the scanner. Dead ahead. Has to be our Artoo.”

     “I sure hope so, Miss,” Threepio answered, “and I’m terribly sorry for all the trouble he has caused.”

     Leia hit the accelerator and they speeded onwards until they finally reached the small blue-and-white droid. He had made it surprisingly far, almost to the other side of the Beggar’s Canyon. Leia couldn’t help but be impressed at Artoo’s dedication.

     Leia jumped off the speeder and walked to Artoo. “Alright, where do you think you’re going?”

     Artoo beeped and whistled as a response.

     “Miss Leia is your rightful owner now!” Threepio said sternly. “We’ll have no more of this Ahsoka Tano gibberish!”

     Another set of beeps.

     “And don’t talk to me of your mission, either,” Threepio snapped. “You’re fortunate she doesn’t blast you into a million pieces right here!”

     Artoo made a chirp that Leia knew was an insult. It couldn’t be anything else.

     “No, it’s alright,” she said. “But I think we’d better go.”

     Suddenly Artoo beeped frantically and shifted from side to side on his rollers.

     “What is it?” Leia asked.

     “There are several creatures approaching from the southeast,” Threepio said.

     Leia brushed her bangs off her face. “Sandpeople, or worse,” she groaned. “Come on, get in. We might be able to outrun them.”

     They had barely jumped into the speeder when two Sandpeople appeared, screaming and waving their staffs. Whether they wanted to fight or just drive Leia away, well, Leia wasn’t going to stay and find out. She took a deep breath before she started to accelerate. She was just about to speed past the Sandpeople when they heard a frightening shriek. The Sandpeople scattered, and Leia startled so much that she hit the brake too hard and flew over her speeder, thankfully landing on sand instead of rock.

     A tall figure cloaked in white appeared from between the rocks. “That should keep the Sandpeople away for a while.”

     Leia blinked, trying to distinguish the form in front of her. Even though she had only met her once many years ago very briefly, there was no mistaking Ashla Tano’s montrals and long lekku, orange skin, and white facial markings, even when partially covered by her cloak. So Uncle Owen had been wrong. At least Ashla was still alive and well here on Tatooine.

     “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Ashla Tano,” Leia said.

     Ashla smiled at Leia gently and offered her hand. “It’s been a while, Leia Skywalker,” she said. “Are you alright?”

     “Yeah, I think so,” Leia answered, let Ashla pull her up, and rubbed her arm.

     “What brings you here?” Ashla asked, eyes scanning Leia as if she was looking for injuries.

     Leia turned to glance at Artoo. “That droid. He sure has given me a lot of grief, but he was really insistent about his mission. I’ve never seen such devotion in a droid before. Anyway, he claims he belongs to someone called Ahsoka Tano. Do you know what he’s talking about?”

     Ashla looked up from Leia's arm and gasped. “Artooie?”

     Artoo made a series of excited beeps, jumped down from the speeder, and rolled closer. Ashla laughed and patted him. “Long time no see, buddy.”

     Leia crossed her arms with a frown. “So he _did_ belong to you, then? _You’re_ Ahsoka Tano?”

     Ashla —Ahsoka— looked up at Leia. “Yes, I’m Ahsoka. I haven’t gone by that name for a long time. Artoo never actually belonged to me but it’s a long story and we need to get inside. Sandpeople are easily startled but return in bigger numbers. Come, my homestead isn’t far away.”

      Leia bit her lip. She’d have to get home, there was a lot of work to do and Aunt Beru could keep covering for her only for so long. But she had also come this far, and Artoo clearly wasn’t going to come back before he had delivered the message. Well, might as well see this through. Leia jumped in her speeder and told Ahsoka to lead the way. Ahsoka smiled at her and climbed in as well.

     Ahsoka’s homestead was a short drive away from the Beggar’s Canyon. It stood hidden within a rock formation, safe from sandstorms and prying eyes. It was only a small hut but as comfortable as it could be in this part of the galaxy.

     “So,” Leia said when she sat down on the couch with her waterskin, “I gathered from Uncle Owen that you knew my parents.”

     “I doubt he directly told you that,” Ahsoka mused. “I fought in the Clone Wars with them, mostly with your father.”

     “Uncle Owen always told me my father was a pilot on a spice freighter whose jump to lightspeed went wrong.”

     Ahsoka scoffed. “Anakin was the best pilot I’ve known, he would’ve never made such a mistake!” She rubbed her brow and sighed. “After I brought you to your aunt and uncle and told them what had happened, he told me to stay away from you. And maybe it was for the better. A Clone War veteran and a known target of the Empire hardly is desirable company.”

     “What did you do in the Clone Wars?” Leia asked.

     “I was a Jedi Padawan,” Ahsoka answered. “Your father, Anakin Skywalker, was my master for a time.”

     Leia stared at Ahsoka in awe. “The Jedi were real? And the Force too?”

     Ahsoka nodded with an affirming hum. “Both are very real. There aren’t many of us left though. The Jedi were purged with the rise of the Empire. I survived because your mother had taken me under her wing and helped me start over after I was expelled from the Jedi Order. I wasn’t at the Temple when it happened. I was fighting in the Siege of Mandalore.” She sighed. “They were both my dear friends, your parents.”

     Ahsoka got up. “Which reminds me…” she muttered and opened a chest. “This is for you,” she said and handed Leia a silver cylinder-shaped object.

     “What is this?” Leia asked, pressing one of the buttons. The object sparked into life, creating a glowing blue laser blade.

     “That,” Ahsoka said, “is your father’s old lightsaber. A Jedi’s weapon. I’ve had it waiting for you for years. It’s from a more civilized age, before the birth of the Empire.”

     Leia turned the blade off from the same button that had turned it on, and sat down again. “How did my parents die?”

     Ahsoka closed her eyes. “I wasn’t there for your father. A dark lord of the Sith called Darth Vader destroyed the Jedi Temple. As for your mother… I’d only just managed to escape the Siege of Mandalore, and when I reached her, she was having birth complications. Couldn’t get her the care she needed on time.”

     “I don’t even know her name,” Leia admitted. “My aunt and uncle never talk about her.”

     “Her name was Padmé Amidala, Queen and later Senator of Naboo,” Ahsoka answered. Leia stared at her, eyes round. A queen, her mother? Seriously? “I knew her as a Senator and perhaps the greatest defender of those who couldn’t speak for themselves in the galaxy. And there’s one more thing you should know—”

     Artoo whistled and beeped impatiently.

     Ahsoka nodded. “Okay, Artooie, let’s see that message you have for me,” she said and patted Artoo.

     “I saw part of the message, but…” Leia started.

     “Oh, here it is, I think,” Ahsoka said and sat back as the hologram of the young man appeared again and message started to roll.

     “ _Commander Tano, I am Prince Luke Organa of Alderaan. Years ago you served my father, Viceroy Bail Organa, in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father’s request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I’m afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Ahsoka Tano. You’re my only hope._ ”

     Ahsoka sat back and rubbed her chin. Then she looked at Leia with a smile.

     “You must learn the ways of the Force if you’re gonna come to Alderaan with me.”

     “Alderaan?” Leia repeated and shook her head. “No, I can’t go to Alderaan, I have to get home. Uncle Owen will get a fit if I’m not back by noon.”

     “But I need your help,” Ahsoka insisted, and nodded at Artoo. “The prince needs your help too.”

     Leia grimaced. Her sense of justice was screaming to her that Ahsoka was right and she had to help, but a voice that sounded like a mix of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru insisted that she was supposed to go home.

     “I can’t get involved,” Leia said in anguish. “I hate the Empire but what can I do? I’m just a farm girl, no matter who my parents were. And,” she added with a glance at Artoo, “Alderaan is such a long way from here.”

     “Thankfully,” Ahsoka said, “I have a contact who owes me a favor after I saved his life. If we’re in luck, he’s close by.”

     Leia raised an eyebrow. “What sort of a contact?”

     Ahsoka smiled. “He’s a pilot and a smuggler, at least last I heard of him. Just what we need.”

     That said, Ahsoka picked up a comm device and started to make the call. Leia leaned back on Ahsoka’s makeshift couch and crossed her arms. She had met a few smugglers in Anchorhead, especially in Tosche Station, none of them respectable. Life debt or no, she wasn’t completely on board with this plan. Smugglers were only in on anything for their own profit, everyone knew that. They had no respect for anyone, or anything.

     Then again, Ahsoka clearly trusted this smuggler, whoever he was, and they needed a good pilot to get them to Alderaan with the droids without being detected by the Empire. And since they didn’t have a better plan at hand…

     Leia woke from her thoughts when Ahsoka’s comm device beeped to see a hologram of a rather handsome black man.

     “ _Commander Tano?_ ” said the man. “ _That you?_ ”

     “Yes,” Ahsoka answered. “Hello, Lando. How are you and L3?”

     Lando shrugged. “ _Not bad, just finished a supply run, no problems there. L3 was gonna kill a Dug for mistreating his droids but didn’t get a good shot. You?_ ”

     “I’m well, thank you for asking,” said Ahsoka. “Listen, I need to call you on that favor you owe me. Are you anywhere near Tatooine right now?”

     Lando grinned, and Leia hated to admit it but it made him even more handsome. “ _You’re in luck, Commander_ ,” he said. “ _The supply run I finished was at Mos Eisley. L3 and I are still here, plan was to take off tomorrow. What do you need?_ ”

     “A lift to Alderaan,” Ahsoka said, her tone changing from the pleasant small-talk tone to a sterner one, one fit for a Commander. “Four passengers. Myself, my friend Leia, and two droids. And no questions asked.”

     Lando nodded, his tone taking a more serious turn as well. “ _Alright, we’re ready to leave when you are. Just let me know once you’re in Mos Eisley so I can come pick you up._ ”

     “Thank you, Lando. We’ll be there in a few hours.”

     “ _I'll see you then, Commander._ ”

     Ahsoka turned the comm off and glanced at Leia. “His name is Lando Calrissian. I’ve saved his life twice and after the second time he promised me that if I ever needed a favor from him I only need to call a special frequency on his ship and he’ll come. Like I just did. Come, we don’t have any time to lose.”

     Leia bit her lip in consideration. She had never been off-world and this could be her one chance to get out. But even so, she had to think about her aunt and uncle as well. “Can we stop by at my home? I owe Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru an explanation, at the very least.”

     Ahsoka halted and eyed Leia for a moment before she nodded. “You’re right. They deserve to know, as dangerous as it might be.”

 

* * *

 

Luke’s head hurt when he woke up. His braid crown was disheveled and it took a good while before his eyes adjusted to the dim light. He had barely any recollection of where he was. After the Star Destroyer he had been taken to… some kind of space station, maybe? It was fuzzy. He had tried to escape but… right. Vader. Somehow Vader had anticipated his attempt to make a run for it. Like a Jedi from the old stories Luke’s parents used to tell him. Vader had caught Luke at the escape pods and taken him to the detention level himself and thrown him into this cell.

     As if on cue the door of Luke’s cell opened and Darth Vader stepped inside. In the close space his height made him even more imposing than usual, but Luke braced himself. He was the Crown Prince of Alderaan and he would not be intimidated by the Empire, no matter what they would do to him to make him talk.

     “And now, Your Highness,” said Vader, “we shall discuss the location of your hidden rebel base.”

     Luke’s eyes widened when he saw the circular thing following Vader. A torture droid. They were supposed to be illegal. The Senate would have a thing or two to say about this… if they ever heard about this.

     People said that in space no one can hear you scream. For a fleeting moment Luke thought that now he was about to find out if that was true.

 

* * *

 

On their way back to the Lars homestead to explain the situation Leia and Ahsoka ran into something strange. The Jawa sandcrawler Uncle Owen had purchased Artoo and Threepio from was standing in the edge of Beggar’s Canyon, smoking. Leia steered her speeder to take a closer look.

     The Jawas were dead.

     Leia parked the speeder and jumped off. Something, possibly a larger group, had slaughtered the Jawas, their small bodies scattered around the edge of the canyon. She crossed her arms and made a face. Only one group of beings caused massacres of this kind on Tatooine. Only it didn’t make any sense.

     “Why would the Sandpeople kill Jawas?” Leia wondered aloud.

     Ahsoka shook her head. “I don’t think it was Sandpeople,” she said, pointing at the ground around the sandcrawler. “These tracks are side-by-side. Sandpeople always ride single file to hide their numbers. We’re meant to think it was them. These blast points are too accurate for them. These are the doings of stormtroopers.”

     That made even less sense. Except… these _were_ the Jawas that had sold Artoo and Threepio. And given that Artoo carried information that could damage the Empire, Leia started to connect the dots.

     “If they traced the droids here, they may have learned who they sold them to and that would lead them back…” The horror of a dawning realization made Leia's stomach twist. “Home!”

     “Leia, wait!” Ahsoka called and jumped into the speeder. “I’ll go with you. It’s too dangerous alone.”

     Artoo and Threepio followed the suit, barely managing to hold on as Leia hit the gas pedal.

     The smoke was the first thing they saw. Leia increased the speed. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had to be alright, they just had to be, they couldn’t… Leia couldn’t even finish the thought. They had to have escaped or taken in custody, surely the Empire wouldn’t harm an elderly couple who had done nothing wrong.

     That was when Leia saw how wrong she was.

     At first she didn’t even understand what she was looking at. There were two corpses lying on the ground near the homestead’s entrance, charred to the bone and unrecognizable. It was impossible to tell which one had been Aunt Beru and which one Uncle Owen. Leia blinked several times, unable to react or process the sight in front of her.

     Then she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Ahsoka seemed to be holding her emotions back, but her voice trembled when she said, “We should bury them. There’s time for that.”

     Leia wiped away the tears she just now realized had fallen on her cheek. “I should’ve been here.”

     Ahsoka shook her head as they headed to the shed where Uncle Owen had kept his loadlifters. “You would’ve been killed with them. There was nothing you could’ve done. I don’t know if I could’ve been able to stop them. But we can honor Owen and Beru by giving them a proper burial.”

     As Leia dug the grave she made her choice. There was nothing left for her on Tatooine. Her family and everything she had owned had been burned by the Empire. Leia would see that Ahsoka and Artoo made it safely to Alderaan and the Rebel Alliance got whatever information they needed to take the Empire down. And then she would learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like her father and Ahsoka.

     The Empire would burn like Leia’s entire world had.

 

* * *

 

“Mos Eisley spaceport,” Ahsoka said as the group stood on a ledge, looking down at one of the two closest equivalents Tatooine had to cities. “There aren’t many places that have larger numbers of scum and villainy. Best let Lando know we’re here, figure out where we can meet.”

     Leia raised an eyebrow at Ahsoka. “We won’t go straight to the landing platform?”

     Ahsoka gave Leia a small smile. “If I’ve learned anything during my years of exile, it’s to never take the most obvious route. The Empire is still looking for the droids, we need to lay as low as possible.”

     Leia had never been to Mos Eisley before. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had rarely had any dealings there and whenever one of them did, Leia had always stayed home.

     Ahsoka’s call to Lando was a short one. Lando gave them the directions to a cantina that, st least to Leia’s understanding, had a questionable reputation but didn’t have many Imperial sympathizers as customers. It was likely the safest place to meet in.

     Almost the second they entered Mos Eisley they were stopped by a group of stormtroopers. Leia felt anger rushing through her veins. For all she knew these were the same stormtroopers that had murdered Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

     “How long have you had these droids?” asked the lead stormtrooper, pointing at Artoo and Threepio with his blaster.

     Leia shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “About three or four seasons, haven’t kept count.”

     “They’re up for sell if you want them,” Ahsoka added.

     “Let me see your identification.”

     Well, that was it, they were dead. Sure, Leia had an identification card but that had burned with her home.

     “You don’t need to see her identification,” Ahsoka said suddenly with an odd tone, subtly waving her hand. How was that supposed to help anyone?

     To Leia’s surprise the stormtrooper nodded. “We don’t need to see her identification.”

     “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”

     “These aren’t the droids we’re looking for.”

     “We can go about our business.”

     “You can go about your business.”

 _This is getting spooky_ , Leia thought but kept quiet.

     “Move along,” Ahsoka said finally.

     “Move along,” the stormtrooper agreed, gesturing Leia to drive on. “Move along.”

     Once they were outside the stormtroopers hearing distance, Leia drove the speeder to the shady-looking cantina where they had agreed to meet up with Lando Calrissian. There she turned to Ahsoka and asked, “What was that?”

     “The Force can have a strong influence to the weak-minded,” Ahsoka answered. “You’ll learn in time too. Let’s go, Lando is probably waiting for us already.”

     The cantina was shady on the inside in every possible meaning of that word. It was a good thing they weren’t looking for anyone respectable there because that would’ve been harder than finding a changeling in a crowd. For a split second Leia wondered what Uncle Owen might’ve said if he knew she was in a place like that and then she shook her head. No, don’t think about it.

     They were about to get inside when the bartender suddenly shouted, “Hey! We don’t serve their kind here!”

     “Excuse me?” Leia blurted.

     “Your droids!” the bartender clarified impatiently. “They’re gonna have to wait outside! We serve only sentients here!”

     Leia turned to Threepio. “You better go, we don’t want any trouble. Find somewhere you can lay low.”

     “I quite agree, Miss,” Threepio said and turned around, Artoo behind him.

     Ahsoka took a quick scan at the room and then told Leia, “He’s not here yet. We must be early. Go get a drink, I’ll secure a table for us.”

     Leia nodded, walked over to the bar counter and ordered at random some blue drink that didn’t have alcohol in it. She kept a keen eye at the bartender while he was mixing it (Aunt Beru hadn’t been scare-mongering, she had just wanted Leia to be safe), and sipped on it slowly while waiting for Ahsoka to come back.

     Some Aqualish ruffian shoved Leia and yelled at her something she didn’t understand. Leia gave the alien a glare and went back to her drink.

     Someone tapped Leia on her shoulder.

     “He doesn’t like you,” said a small man with wet eyes and a nose that looked like a pig’s snout, nodding at his Aqualish mate.

     “My apologies,” Leia answered and tried to go back to her drink once again, but the man grabbed her by her shoulder.

     “Well I don’t like you either, so you just watch yourself. We’re wanted men! I have a death warrant on my head in twelve systems!”

     Leia shrugged. “I’ll be careful.”

     The man grabbed her again. “You’ll be dead!”

     Leia reached out for her blaster. This wasn’t the first time she had got into a bar fight.

     “There’s no need to bother for this girl,” interrupted Ahsoka’s soothing voice. Leia looked up at the Togruta Jedi. Ahsoka had a serene smile on her face as she faced the small man and his Aqualish mate. “Now, how about I buy you two gentlemen a drink and then we’ll be on our way?”

     The man shoved Leia on the floor and in the ruckus she couldn’t see what happened, but she heard the humming of an ignited lightsaber and then a scream of pain. A moment later Leia saw a bloody arm on the floor, and the pig-nosed man and the Aqualish ruffian vanished to the crowd and the customers went back to their drinks when the excitement died down as quickly as it had emerged.

     Ahsoka offered Leia her hand and helped her up.

     “That’s keeping low profile?” Leia asked, raising an eyebrow at Ahsoka.

     Ahsoka made an amused sound. “Come on, let’s get new drinks. I secured a table for us.”

     They sat in a shadowy corner table with their drinks and sipped on them in silence. Ahsoka kept staring at the entrance while Leia tried to process everything that had happened since the morning. Her father’s lightsaber hung from her belt and she found herself touching it every now and then just to make sure it was still there.

     “Oh, there’s Lando now,” Ahsoka said, pointing at the entrance. Leia turned around and saw the man from Ahsoka’s holocom. Lando Calrissian was even more handsome in person and had clearly dressed to impress, so to say. Leia had never seen such fancy clothes —and a cape!— on anyone. He looked impeccable from head to toe in his blue shirt, black trousers, and black boots, and somehow the blue cape with the golden lining only made him look better. Leia would’ve expected something like that to have looked ridiculous, but Lando was able to pull it off.

     Lando went to the bar counter, got a drink, and scanned the room. Ahsoka waved at him with a smile, which Lando returned and headed to their table.

     “Commander,” Lando greeted Ahsoka, set his drink down, and kissed Ahsoka’s hand. “Always a pleasure. You look phenomenal as usual.”

     Ahsoka chuckled. “It’s good to see you too, Lando. And thank you. I realize this is quite short notice.”

     “I would’ve come from the other side of the galaxy if it meant repaying my debt.” Lando met Leia’s gaze. “Oh, hello. And who might you be?”

     “Leia,” answered Leia with more coolness than she intended, but she still wasn’t sure what to make of Lando Calrissian.

     “Leia is my apprentice,” Ahsoka said and gestured at the table. “Sit. We need to discuss the mission.”

     Lando nodded as he took a seat. “So, Alderaan?” His demeanor changed into a more serious one. “And is it safe to assume you’d like to avoid contact with the Empire?”

     “You could say that,” Ahsoka answered. “Is your ship up to the task?”

     “The _Falcon_ is more than up to it,” Lando assured. “You couldn’t get off this planet on a better ship. She’s the fastest in the galaxy.”

     Leia bit her tongue to hold back a scoff. All pilots boasted they had the best and fastest ship in the galaxy. “How fast, exactly?” she asked.

     “Thousand and fifty kilometers per standard hour in atmosphere,” Lando answered, “and makes it .5 past lightspeed.”

     Huh. That was actually impressive. If it was true.

     “When can we leave?” Ahsoka asked.

     “As soon as you're ready to go.” Lando ran his hand through his hair. “Everything’s prepared and L3 is—”

     “What do you mean, you don’t serve droids?!”

     “Oh no,” Lando groaned and got up. “I told L3 to stay on the _Falcon_ …”

     This wasn’t the first time Leia lamented the fact that she was so short. She and Ahsoka made it through the crowd, following Lando, until they saw the cantina’s bartender having been pulled over the counter by his collar by a pilot droid. Ahsoka shook her head.

     “I hope no one has alerted stormtroopers,” she muttered, and only Leia heard her.

     “L3!” Lando interrupted the droid from straight-up strangling the bartender. “Let him go, he’s not worth the trouble.”

     Leia was sure L3 would've grimaced had she had the ability, but since she didn’t, she simply let go of the bartender’s collar. “No serving for the likes of _me_ ,” she said with obvious bitterness in her tone. “Always the same thing.”

     Lando left some credits on the counter and mumbled a half-hearted apology. Leia took a better look at L3 in the meantime and decided that she liked the droid.

     “You should’ve stayed on the _Falcon_ ,” Lando said after they had made it out of the cantina. “Saved your feelings.”

     “Ahsoka is my friend too,” L3 answered.

     “And as your friend I'd rather you didn’t get yourself deactivated,” Ahsoka put in, patting L3’s shoulder.

     L3 scoffed. “Good luck finding the switch.”

     They picked up Artoo and Threepio at a warehouse near the cantina, and Lando suggested that they’d sell Leia’s speeder. It was too big a cargo for the _Falcon_ , he explained, and seemed genuinely apologetic about it. Leia bit her lip. The speeder was the only thing she had left… but Lando was right. It was inconvenient for the rest of the journey.

     Leia sighed, removed everything personal from the speeder, and took it to the closest mechanic. The mechanic, a sleazy-looking man, made an offer of two thousand credits, and Leia was about to take it when Lando stepped up.

     “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said. “Two thousand? Come on, that thing is worth ten at least!”

     “It’s an old model,” the mechanic argued. “Two and five hundred.”

     “You’re joking,” Lando scoffed. “It’s in a better condition than most modern models you see these days. Eight and five hundred.”

     “Three!”

     “Five!”

     The mechanic sighed. “Deal,” he said and passed the credits to Leia. Five thousand, exactly. Leia had never had that many credits to herself.

     Lando flashed the mechanic a dashing smile. “Pleasure to do business with you,” he said and escorted Leia back to Ahsoka and the droids. As they made their way to the hangar bay where his ship waited, he told Leia, “That sleemo was totally gonna scam you. With the added sentimental value… definitely worth the five thousand, at least.”

     “Thank you,” Leia said, finally giving Lando an actually genuine smile. It vanished as soon as she saw the ship that was supposed to take them to Alderaan. It was an old YT model freighter and it looked like it had taken some serious hits.

     Leia shook her head, staring at the ship in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? We’re lucky if that pile of junk even takes off!”

     “You can always stay here if you want,” L3 said as she walked past Leia into the ship.

     “I know she doesn’t look like much,” Lando said quickly. “But she made the Kessel run in twelve parsecs. She’s got it where it counts. My ex and I have made a lot of special modifications ourselves.”

     Leia wasn’t going to believe that before they were in the air.

 

* * *

 

Luke wasn’t sure why Vader came to his cell all of a sudden and escorted him out, but as soon as they arrived on the bridge it became clear. They were met by Luke’s least favorite person in the galaxy.

     “Grand Moff Tarkin, I might’ve guessed that I should find you holding Vader’s leash,” Luke said and didn’t even bother to try and hide his contempt. “I thought I smelled something foul when I was brought on board.”

     Tarkin chuckled. “I see you’ve not lost any of your charm, Your Highness. You don’t know how hard I found it to sign the order to terminate your life.”

     Luke scoffed. Tarkin might’ve been a head taller than he was, but deep down the Grand Moff was a coward. “I’m surprised you had the courage to take responsibility yourself.”

     Tarkin turned and spoke as if he was politely welcoming Luke to a tea party, “Your Highness, before your execution, I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station officially operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now.”

     Luke shook his head. “Mark my words, Tarkin, the galaxy will know what happened to Jedha and Scarif. More and more star systems are slipping through your fingers as we speak.”

     Tarkin raised his finger. “Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station’s destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan.”

     Luke felt like his blood turned into ice. He had seen what had happened on Scarif, and that had been when this battle station hadn't been fully operational.

     “No, you can’t!” he cried. “Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons, you can’t possibly—”

     “You’d prefer another target? A military target?! Then name the system!” Tarkin snapped. He stepped closer to Luke and effectively pinned him against Darth Vader. “I grow tired of asking this, so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?”

     Over Tarkin’s shoulder Luke could see Alderaan’s brilliant blue hue. His home, his people, did not deserve to be used as a bargaining chip like this. But how could he send another planet to its doom instead? No matter what he decided, countless lives would be lost. Luke bit his lip and willed himself to stay calm.

     “Dantooine,” he said finally. “They’re on Dantooine.”

     “There,” Tarkin said with a triumphant tone. “You see, Lord Vader? He can be reasonable.” He turned to an assistant. “You may fire when ready.”

     For a split second Luke thought he had misheard. “What?!”

    “You are far too trusting,” said Tarkin. “Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don’t worry. We will deal with your rebel friends soon enough.”

     “No…” Luke whimpered. Vader grabbed his shoulder.

     “Commence primary ignition.”

     Within seconds a green beam hit Alderaan’s surface, much like Scarif and Jedha a few days earlier, and for a moment Luke thought he heard the screams of terror of his people. And then… Alderaan was no more. Where it had once orbited its sun was now only a clutter of asteroids and space dust.

     Luke kept his composure until he was shoved back into his cell block. There, in the dark, he wrapped his arms around his knees and shed silent tears for his parents, his friends, his home he could never again return to. It was all gone. Alderaan was lost forever.

     And if Luke knew Grand Moff Tarkin at all, he was the next target to be eliminated.

 

* * *

 

As they had a lot of time to kill before making it to Alderaan, Ahsoka made Leia start her lightsaber training in the _Falcon’s_ lounge. Blocking shots from a blaster ball proved a more difficult challenge than what Leia had anticipated, especially when Ahsoka made her do it blindfolded. She yelped from pain when yet another shot got her. That was when Ahsoka suddenly gasped, clutched on her chest and sat down.

     “Are you okay?” Leia asked, lifting the blindfold off her face.

     Ahsoka shook her head. “I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.”

     Leia patted Ahsoka’s shoulder and left the lounge to give her some space. Whatever it was that Ahsoka had felt, it couldn’t be good, and she most likely needed silence to contemplate on it. Leia wandered around the corridor of the _Falcon_ until she ran into Lando. Lando was seemingly running some statistics and when he looked up from the screen he said, “Estimated time of arrival to Alderaan is in 0200 hours. Everything okay?”

     Leia shrugged. “With me, as okay as they can be, under the circumstances.”

     “And those are?”

     On one hand Leia had just met Lando and wasn’t still quite sure whether to trust him or not, but on the other hand she needed to let it all out. And so she recounted everything that had happened from the purchase of Artoo and Threepio up until she and Ahsoka had met with Lando. It felt good to let it out, and Lando never interrupted. Only at the part where Leia’s voice broke when she was telling about finding the bodies of her aunt and uncle Lando hugged her and patted her back.

     “You’re holding up a lot better than most people would,” Lando pointed out when he let go of Leia.

     “Yeah, well…” Leia rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll probably mourn for them when there’s time.”

     Lando nodded, didn’t pry any more, concentrated on the statistics again, and a silence fell between the two of them.

     “So, exactly how do you know Ahsoka?” Leia asked after a while. Lando hadn't asked her to leave and she had to admit, she was curious. Ahsoka had said she’d saved his life twice but hadn’t gone into details.

     Lando looked up from the statistics again and grinned at her. “What? Jealous, are we?”

     “No!” Leia blurted, making a face. “I… it’s… just answer the question!”

     Lando leaned against the wall. “The first time I met her was during the final year of the Clone Wars. I was very young, no older than six. The droid army had attacked my old home planet, Socorro, and was closing in on me and my mom. And that was when she jumped in front of us.” Lando's voice took a reverent tone. “A young Togruta Jedi single-handedly destroyed an entire platoon. At the time I didn’t get to thank her, but I never forgot.”

     Huh, Leia thought. That was… rather adorable, really. But given that Ahsoka wasn’t that old herself, she couldn’t have been older than a teenager during the Clone Wars. The idea was terrifying. A teenager forced into an active warzone? No wonder Ahsoka had a hard time talking about her past.

     Leia shook this thought off her head for time being and continued, “What about the second time?”

     Lando laughed. “You’re curious.”

     Leia raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.

     “Right, so, it was some five years ago. I was paying off some old debts to Gardulla the Hutt in Mos Espa when I got in a disagreement with some of her goons. Commander Tano passed by, did her Jedi mind trick to get them off me and saved my skin. She was just as magnificent then as she was the first time I saw her.”

     At that Leia had to smile. She leaned against the wall and reached out to touch Lando’s shoulder. “I think I can trust you now,” she said. “Before, when Ahsoka described you, I didn’t know what to make of it. Experience in Tosche Station taught me not to trust smugglers, but—”

     Lando laughed again. “Well, she got that wrong. I’m not a smuggler anymore, haven’t been for three years. My supply run was a favor to a client. My actual job nowadays is—”

     Lando was cut short by the _Falcon’s_ alarm that indicated that they had reached their destination. Leia followed him to the cockpit where moments later they were joined by Ahsoka.

     “Alright, coming up on Alderaan,” Lando said.

     “Coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one,” L3 counted and the bright blue of hyperspace turned into black spotted with stars and… asteroids? Several crashed into the _Falcon_ before Lando and L3 were able to make any kind of evasive actions. Leia and Ahsoka were barely able to stay on their chairs, and Threepio only stayed in the cockpit because Artoo had locked on the floor and was blocking the doorway.

     “L3, what happened?” Lando asked.

     “I don’t know!” L3 snapped. “This asteroid field isn’t on any of my charts!”

     Lando frowned, checked the charts, and shook his head. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Our position’s correct. There just… is no Alderaan.”

     “What do you mean?” Leia asked. “Where is it?”

     “If it were possible I’d say it’s been blown away,” L3 answered.

     That was absurd! What could've destroyed an entire planet? It wasn’t possible!

     “The Empire,” Ahsoka said solemnly.

     Lando shook his head. “Can’t be. Star Destroyers are horrible but they’re not named literally. It’d take more than a thousand ships for that kind of firepower.”

     Leia glanced at Ahsoka who shook her head. The alarm of an approaching ship went off, a roaring noise came through the comlink, and they saw a TIE Fighter fly right past them.

     “Did they follow us?” Leia asked.

     “Not likely, that’s a short-range fighter,” Lando said. “But we can’t let them report us back to the Empire, that would jeopardize everything.”

     “There aren’t any bases around here, though,” Ahsoka put in. “Where did it come from?”

     That was a question none of them were able to answer.

     “L3, jam its transmissions,” Lando said to the droid. “Let’s get it on the firing range!”

     “Finally some action!” L3 commented.

     Lando and L3 hit the engine and flew after the TIE Fighter. They were almost at the shooting range, when—

     “It’s heading towards that small moon over there!” Leia exclaimed.

     “Not for long, I’ve almost got them,” Lando said, getting ready to fire.

     “That’s no moon,” Ahsoka said suddenly. “That’s a space station.”

     What? That made about as little sense as Alderaan’s destruction. Space stations weren’t that huge, there were no resources to build anything that big! Lando even pointed that out loud and told L3 to lock in auxiliary power. They were going for full reverse. Moon, space station, whatever that thing was, none of them wanted to make closer acquaintances with it.

     “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this,” Leia said, staring at the huge construction over Lando's shoulder.

     “L3, full power!” Lando commanded when the _Falcon_ wouldn’t turn around and kept flying towards the space station.

     “We’re caught in a tractor beam!” L3 complained.

     “Can’t you pull out?” Leia asked.

     “Does it seem like we can?!” L3 snapped back. “We’re at full power! We’re gonna have to shut down! They’re not gonna get us without a fight if I have anything to say about it!”

     “We’re doomed,” whimpered Threepio.

     “Anyone got a plan?” Ahsoka asked, glancing between Leia, Lando, and L3.

     Lando leaned back in the pilot’s chair and rubbed his chin. “I think I just came up with something. Leia, I’m gonna need you to pretend you’re the pilot.”

     Leia raised an eyebrow at Lando. “Why?”

     “‘Cause I’m gonna pose as an Imperial officer.” He stood up. “L3, you’re in charge. Get Ahsoka and the droids in the compartments we used for smuggling. Leia, you come with me. We need to dress for our parts.”

 

* * *

 

With Ahsoka, L3, Threepio, and Artoo safely tucked in the _Falcon’s_ smuggling compartments to wait for the signal and most of her face hidden behind a pilot’s helmet, Leia walked down the boarding ramp behind Lando. They were met by a group of stormtroopers and an actual officer. Leia’s hand went automatically to the lightsaber clipped on her belt. It was time to see if their disguises worked. Lando was very impressive in his Imperial uniform (he hadn’t said where he had stolen it from, and Leia hadn’t asked) and long black-and-red silk cape, but still, Leia preferred to be ready to fight her way out of there.

     “Who are—” began the officer, but Lando cut him off.

     “I ask the questions here,” he said with a haughty tone, scarily accurate. This clearly wasn’t his first time posing as an Imperial. “I am Deleran Ray, Governor of Bespin. By what right do you subject my ship to a tractor beam?”

     The officer paled. “I— I'm terribly sorry, Governor!” (Well, that proves our disguises are believable, Leia thought.)

     “Yes, you should be,” Lando answered. “You’re lucky if I don’t file an official report of this… negligence. Surely you were expecting my presence on this station.”

     “Oh, uh,” the officer stammered, “yes, yes of course. We simply weren’t expecting you to come on… _that_.”

     Leia squeezed her lips together and crossed her arms, trying to hold back laughter. Thankfully everyone else took her expression for disgruntlement.

     “See?” Lando said, gesturing at Leia. “Now you’ve insulted my pilot. And we’ve already had such a rough day, what with the pirate attack and everything…”

     “As I said, I am terribly sorry and will make sure the tractor beam operator will face consequences.”

     Lando gave the officer a cool nod. “Good. Well then, if you could show us to the nearest control room, I won’t press charges against anyone here.”

     “I will have to see your identification card, sir,” said the officer.

     For a moment Lando just stood there and Leia was sure their cover was blown.

     “Wha— why?”

     “Standard safety protocol, sir, I—”

     Leia looked the officer in the eye and waved her hand in front of his face. Alright, just do it like Ahsoka did it on Tatooine, you can do this.

     “You don’t need to see his identification card,” she said, never breaking eye-contact.

     The officer nodded. “I don’t need to see his identification card.”

     “You will take us to the nearest control room and go about your business.”

     “I will take you to the nearest control room and go about my business.”

     The control room was just around the corner. The officer opened the door, and Leia looked at him again.

     “That will be all,” she said.

     “That will be all,” the officer agreed and went his way with his stormtroopers. It was so lucky that stormtroopers weren’t supposed to question anything. Leia and Lando waited until the group was outside the hearing range before either of them dared to speak.

     “That was scary,” Lando said, staring after the officer and his troops, now only small dots before they disappeared around the corner. “Brilliant, but scary.”

     “Yeah,” Leia nodded, quickly sitting down as her legs gave out when her adrenaline rush subsided. “I can’t believe it actually worked.”

     Lando tilted his head at her. “You ever done that before?”

     Leia shook her head. “I’ve seen Ahsoka do it exactly once and that’s it. There was about zero surety that it actually would’ve worked. I’m relieved it did. We would’ve been in so much trouble if it hadn’t.”

     “You know,” Lando said with a smile, “I’m really glad we’re on the same side.”

     “Yeah,” Leia grinned. “Me too. You pulled that role off really well.”

     Lando smiled again and pulled out his comlink to call Ahsoka. “Alright, the coast is clear. Control room is secured, but try to get here as quickly as possible.”

     “ _Copy that_ ,” Ahsoka replied. “ _We’ll be right over._ ”

     A few minutes later the entire group had gathered in the control room. Artoo pinpointed the location of the main control to the tractor beam, and Threepio explained that the beam was coupled to the main reactor from seven sources, and that a power loss at one of the terminals would allow them to leave. Ahsoka nodded and walked to the door.

     “I don’t think you two can help with this,” she said, looking at Leia and Lando. “I need to do this on my own. Stay here and watch over the droids, especially Artooie. I’ll be back before you know it.” To Leia she added, “The Force will be with you, always.”

     With that she took her leave. Lando sat on the other chair and huffed.

     “I don’t like this,” he said. “Sitting around while someone else saves my neck again…”

     “Well, looks like your luck is changing,” L3 interjected. “Artoo says he’s located the prince.”

     Leia looked up in surprise, and Lando frowned.

     “The who now?” he asked.

     “He’s the one who sent the message to Ahsoka,” Leia explained. “The reason I’m here in the first place. Artoo, where is he?”

     “Level 5, Detention Block AA-23…” Threepio paused as Artoo whistled some more. “I’m afraid he is scheduled for execution.”

     Leia and Lando looked at each other. Well, they both wanted something to do… Leia put the pilot’s helmet back on and Lando ran his hand through his hair. Time to get back in their roles, fool some Imperials, and save a prince. They gave both Threepio and L3 comlinks and told them to lock the door.

     “What if we are discovered here regardless?” Threepio asked.

     “Then hope they don’t have blasters,” Lando said with a smirk.

     “That isn’t very reassuring.”

 

* * *

 

An officer entered the meeting hall and saluted Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader. “Our scout ships have reached Dantooine,” he reported. “They found the remains of a Rebel base, but they estimate that it has been deserted for some time. They are now conducting an extensive search of the surrounding systems.”

     Tarkin slammed his hand on the desk. “He lied! He lied to us!”

     “I told you he would never consciously betray the Rebellion,” Vader said calmly.

     Tarkin’s face grew grim. “Terminate him, immediately!”

     The officer saluted again and took his leave to pass the command on. Vader was about to follow him, but froze. There was a tremor in the Force. A very familiar tremor.

     “ _She_ is here,” said Vader.

     Tarkin frowned. “Ahsoka Tano? Are you sure, Lord Vader? Surely she must have perished by now, if not during your last duel then shortly after.”

     “I have felt her presence,” Vader answered calmly. “The Force is with her. Last time I felt such a power was in the presence of my old master. You would be wise not to underestimate the Force.”

     Tarkin stood up and slammed his hand on the table again. “We must send a squadron to capture her, immediately!”

     Vader shook his helmet-covered head. “Escape is not her plan, and I must face her alone. Do not interfere.”

     Tarkin glared at Vader for a moment before he tilted his head in acknowledgment and sat back down.

     “Very well,” he said. “Do what you must.”

     Tarkin's intercom beeped. “Yes?”

     “ _We have an emergency alert in Detention Block AA-23_ ,” said a voice over the comm.

     Tarkin frowned. “The Prince? Put all sections on alert, he must not be allowed to escape!”

     Vader stalked out, leaving Tarkin to deal with the possible escape of the Prince. He had a much more important task to deal with. He would face his old apprentice the second and final time. This time no strange power would pull Ahsoka away from his grasp.

     This time Ahsoka would meet her fate.

 

* * *

 

Finding the detention block was the easy part. Getting the commanding officer and the guards to leave was a whole other thing. Lando really wished he and Leia had thought about sparing a moment to actually plan this rescue through. Oh well, it wasn’t the first time he had improvised his way in and out somewhere.

     “What is it?” asked the commanding officer.

     Lando set his blaster to stun with one hand while keeping an eye contact. “Routine inspection, officer. The higher officials want to know everything is up to date here.”

     The officer frowned. “I was not notified of this. I will have to clear it.”

     Once the officer had his back turned Lando stunned him and the guards while Leia shot the surveillance cameras. An alarm went off and Leia groaned at it.

     “That probably alerted the entire station on us,” she said, pulling the helmet off her face. “Which cell?”

     “Hold on,” Lando answered while looking through the prisoner files. “Here it is, 2187. Let’s go get him out.”

     Leia turned to walk into the angular corridor of the cell block when the intercom started to beep.

     _Oh crap_ , Lando thought, staring at the intercom, blinking red. Leia made a face at him and waved her hand as if to say, “Just come up with something, buy me time!” Lando sighed, gestured Leia to go and get the prince out, and opened the communication line.

     “Yes, what is it?” Lando said, adopting what he hoped to be the haughty and superior tone he had used earlier.

     “ _We detected shooting up there_ ,” answered some Imperial officer. “ _What happened?_ ”

     “There was a slight weapons malfunction, but, um, everything is perfectly fine right now,” Lando said, and a nauseous feeling settled in his stomach. “No need to worry, everything is under control.”

     There, that ought to take care of everything.

     “ _We’re sending a squad up._ ”

     Bantha shit.

     “Um, no, no, don’t do that!” Lando exclaimed. “We just had a reactor leak here! If you could give us a few minutes to lock it down. It’s a large leak, very dangerous!”

     “ _Who is this? You can't be the commanding officer of the prison level!_ ”

     “Uh…” Lando pulled his blaster from its holster and shot the intercom. “Boring and uninspiring conversation anyway.” He turned to the jail corridor. “LEIA! WE'RE GONNA HAVE COMPANY!”

 

* * *

 

Dammit, Leia thought when she heard Lando. At this rate they’d have no chance to get out of the prison level. Now she understood why there was only one way in and out. Cell 2187 was almost at the end of the corridor too. Well, at least it opened without any problems. Leia stepped inside to meet the confused look of Prince Luke Organa. Upon seeing him, for a moment, Leia felt something warm go through her. If it was the Force, she didn’t know. But there was something eerily familiar about the prince…

     “What is it?” Luke asked. He looked at Leia from head to toe. “You don’t look like an Imperial.”

     “That’s because I’m not,” Leia answered, running her hand through her hair. “I’m Leia Skywalker, I’m here to rescue you!”

     Luke frowned. “You’re who?”

    “I’m here to rescue you,” Leia repeated, passing one of the blasters she had taken from the guards to Luke. “I’ve got your R2 unit. I came here with Ahsoka Tano.”

     Luke jumped up. “Ahsoka Tano?” He burst into a smile. “You delivered my message!”

     “Yeah, I did!” Leia answered, gesturing at the door. “Come on, we gotta get out of here!”

     They didn’t make it far until they bumped into Lando who had retreated into the corridor. Stormtroopers had made it down to the Detention Block and the trio was under heavy fire. The smoke made it nigh impossible to see the targets, but Leia started to shoot back regardless.

     “Leia, call L3!” Lando shouted. “That way out is blocked!”

     “Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route,” Luke said matter-of-factly.

     “Maybe Your Highness would like to return to your cell then?” Lando retorted.

     “Be quiet, I can’t hear L3 or Threepio!” Leia snapped. “Oh, by the way, Luke, meet Lando. Lando, Luke. Yes, L3?”

     L3 and Threepio were speaking over each other but Leia got the gist. There was only one official way in and out the detention block, and they had managed to cut it off. All other information on the level was restricted according to Threepio. They really should have thought this through better. Leia turned her comlink off and tried to see any other alternatives. There was a small hatch in the wall, probably a garbage chute. Not ideal, but it had to make do.

     “We can’t hold them for much longer!” Lando exclaimed.

     “Well, this is some rescue!” Luke scoffed. “You came in here but you didn’t think how to get out?”

     Lando nodded at Leia. “She’s the brains of this operation, sweetheart!”

     “Shut up, both of you!” Leia shouted, turned, and shot a hole in the hatch on the wall.

     “What the hell are you doing?!” Lando asked.

     “Somebody has to save our skins,” Leia snapped and shoved Luke towards the hole. “Into the garbage chute, now!”

     Luke made a face at the reek flowing from the hole but jumped in. Lando delivered a couple more shots at the stormtroopers before he turned to Leia again.

     “Well, he sure is wonderful,” he said, nodding at the garbage chute. “Either I’ll end up killing him or I’ll start to like him!”

     Leia rolled her eyes and before jumping into the chute she said, “Escape now, flirt later, okay?”

     Lando huffed as soon as Leia was out of sight. This was not what he had signed up for. Oh well, a garbage chute was hardly the worst place he had got into. The Akkadese Maelstrom and the Maw Cluster at the Kessel Run still held that position. Twelve parsecs or no, Lando wasn’t inclined to repeat the run. And with that thought and holding his nose he jumped into the garbage chute.

     Lando landed on something wet that smelled musty.

     “Garbage chute, brilliant idea,” he said to Leia. “What an incredible smell you’ve discovered.” Getting up on his feet, Lando pointed his blaster at the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

     “No, wait—” Leia started but too late. Lando’s shot bounced around the walls of the trash compactor, narrowly missing all of them until it hit the trash.

     “We already tried that!” Leia screamed. “The door is magnetically sealed!”

     “Put that thing down, you’re gonna get us all killed!” Luke shouted.

     “Oh, so it was my idea to get stuck in the trash compactor?!” Lando snapped at both of them. “I had everything under control until you decided to lead us here! Now it’s not gonna take the Imps long to figure out what happened to us.”

     Luke rubbed his shoulder. “It could be worse.”

     Something inside the trash compactor made a metallic noise.

     “It’s worse,” Lando said. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

     The walls started to move towards each other. It was so much worse. Lando grabbed a long pole and tried to slow the walls down with it, to no avail. Luke fell on a pile of trash when he tried to help, and Lando had to abandon the pole to help him up.

     Leia grabbed her comlink and screamed into it, “Threepio! L3! One of you come in! Threepio! L3! Where are you?!”

     “One thing’s for sure,” Lando stated sardonically. “We're all gonna be a lot thinner.”

     Seconds ticked away and the walls moved closer and closer together. Leia kept trying to contact one of the droids while Lando tried to help Luke climb on top of the garbage pile. And then, finally, Threepio's voice came through.

     “ _Are you there, Miss?_ ”

     “Threepio!?” Leia exclaimed.

     “ _We’ve had some problems—_ ” Threepio began but Leia interrupted him.

     “Yes, yes, whatever! Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level! Do you copy? Shut them all down!”

     The walls were getting dangerously close to each other. Leia vaguely heard Threepio mention Artoo’s name and then— SLAM! The walls stopped moving. For a split second the trio was too stunned to react, and then they all burst into laughter.

     “ _Listen to them, Artoo and L3, they’re dying!_ ” Leia heard Threepio’s voice in her comlink. “ _Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough! It’s all my fault!_ ”

     Leia laughed into the comlink. “Threepio, we’re all right! We’re all right! You did great!” she assured. “Hey, open the pressure maintenance hatch on unit number…” She looked at Lando and Luke who were hugging each other. “Guys, where are we?”

     Luke glanced at the hatch over Lando’s shoulder. “3263827!”

     Leia repeated this to Threepio and moments later the hatch opened. Fresh air brushed over them as the trio stumbled over the garbage piles out of the trash compactor. Oh, it was good to stand on solid floor in a wide corridor.

     Lando took a look at his cape and groaned. “Aw, this cape was a custom piece!”

     Leia and Luke had identical incredulous looks on their faces.

     “Lando, a whole planet has been destroyed,” Leia said with a seething tone. “My aunt and uncle were murdered by the Empire just because they happened to purchase the wrong droids. Your cape really isn’t the biggest priority here!”

     To Lando’s credit, he did have the courtesy to look ashamed. Luke looked at Leia with a frown.

     “Are you saying you lost your family because of Artoo and Threepio?” he asked.

     Leia bit her lip. “Yeah. Stormtroopers tracked them down to our moisture farm. I was with Threepio looking for Artoo who had run off to find Ahsoka so we weren’t there when…”

     “I’m so sorry, Leia,” Luke said. “This is my fault, I should’ve planned my ship’s escape route better.”

     Leia shook her head. “You couldn’t have known.”

     “Alright, we don’t have time for this,” Lando interjected. “We gotta get back to the _Falcon_. So if the two of you are done with the apology contest, let’s get moving.”

     Luke rolled his eyes, seemingly unimpressed by anything Lando had said. “Listen, I don’t know who you are, or where you came from, but from now on you’ll do as I say, okay?”

      Lando huffed as they started to walk away from the trash compactor. “Look, Your Worshipfulness, I take orders only from myself.” And occasionally from L3, but it wasn’t as if anyone needed to know that.

     “And you’re still alive?” Luke asked. Leia barely disguised a laugh into a cough.

     The trio made their way to a platform above the main hangar undetected. Once they saw the _Falcon_ , Leia called the droids again. This time L3 was the one who answered first.

     “ _Yeah, we’re safe for the moment_ ,” L3 said. “ _We’re in the main hangar across from the ship._ ”

     “Okay, we’re right above you,” Leia answered. “Stand by.”

     “You came in that thing?” Luke asked Lando, pointing at the _Falcon_. “You’re braver than I thought.”

     “Ha ha,” Lando said. “Come on!”

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka looked around the corridor. The sinister presence she had felt upon arriving on this space station was getting closer. She had managed to turn off the tractor beam and had got out undetected (stormtroopers really were no match to old Clone troopers when it came to staying alert). Hands on her lightsabers, she turned around the corner to meet the dark figure of Darth Vader.

     “So, the apprentice returns,” Vader said without even turning to look at Ahsoka.

     “… Anakin.”

     Vader turned now, igniting his lightsaber. “You were unwise to come here.”

     Ahsoka took a deep breath. “I’m not here to fight you, Anakin, but I will if I must.”

     “You cannot beat me, Ahsoka.”

     Ahsoka shook her white robe off and ignited her lightsabers. This was not going to be another Malachor. This time she was ready to face her old master. And if she’d be able to buy Leia and Lando enough time to get out of there, all the better.

     “You don’t have to do this, Anakin,” Ahsoka said as she and her old master started to circle each other, neither willing to make the first move. “You can stop. There’s so much you don’t know.”

     Vader struck. Ahsoka crossed the blades of her sabers and pushed Vader's weight off her. He was still as predictable as ever — at least for her. But she knew Vader better than most. Even after all the years apart Ahsoka was able to recall every strike, every lunge, every block. Unfortunately the same was true for Vader as well. Ahsoka’s dual wielding was a familiar thing for him, and even his armor and cape didn’t slow him down. Soon Ahsoka was fighting for her life— and Vader was fighting to kill.

     The master and the apprentice fought their way to a familiar landing platform. From the corner of her eye Ahsoka could see the _Falcon_. With any luck Leia and Lando were on their way there with the droids. Her fight with Vader quickly drew the attention of the stormtroopers guarding the _Falcon_. Good. The fewer people there were to stop the escape, the better.

     Ahsoka turned to block another strike and then she saw them. Leia, Lando, the droids… and Luke. For a brief moment Ahsoka was sure she had seen Anakin. And that was all Vader needed to slash his lightsaber across Ahsoka’s back.

     Ahsoka screamed in pain and fell on the floor. Vader started to approach her, his lightsaber ready for the final strike.

     “No!” Leia screamed and instinctively drew out her father’s old lightsaber. Before she even realized it herself, she had jumped in and blocked Vader’s strike.

     “What?!” Vader exclaimed. “A Padawan?”

     “Oh, you’ve no idea,” Ahsoka smiled weakly, and as if it was a coordinated plan she and Leia thrust out their hands and sent Vader flying across the hangar bay. With Vader out of the way, Ahsoka just about registered that Lando and Luke came to help carry her into the _Falcon_ and to the small medbay’s life support system.

 

* * *

 

“Let’s hope Ahsoka managed to turn off the tractor beam,” Lando said as he sat on the pilot's chair. “Otherwise this is gonna be a real short trip. Punch it, L3!”

     The _Falcon’s_ engine revved and they made it out of the hangar just fine. Leia and Luke came to the cockpit and sat behind Lando and L3.

     “Ahsoka’s alive but she needs medical help,” Leia said. “Luke said he can give the coordinates to the Rebel Base.”

     Before Lando was able to answer, something shot at them. Four TIE Fighters were following them in a tight formation, effectively forcing Lando to perform evasive actions that prevented Luke from setting the coordinates. Finally Lando pulled a maneuver that made two of the TIE Fighters crash and Luke was able to finish with the coordinates.

     The two remaining TIE Fighters kept firing at the _Falcon_.

     “At this rate they’ll shoot us down like sitting porgs!” Luke exclaimed over Lando’s shoulder.

     “Oh yeah?” said Lando and pulled the hyperdrive switch. “Watch this!”

     The engine revved but nothing happened. L3 groaned and Leia planted her palm on her face.

     “Watch what?” Luke asked.

     Lando cursed under his breath. “We’re in trouble.”

     Threepio made his way to the cockpit and announced, “Captain, I noticed earlier that the hyperdrive has been damaged! It is impossible to jump to lightspeed!”

     Lando climbed off his chair, pushed Threepio into the last remaining free chair in the cockpit, and glanced at Leia. “Leia, you’re good at fixing stuff, right?”

     “Yeah?”

     “You think you could give the hyperdrive a shot?”

     Leia nodded. “Absolutely.”

     “Come with me.” Before making his exit, Lando turned to Luke. “Your Worship, can you fly?”

     Luke rolled his eyes. “I can fly anything.”

     “Good. Get in the seat. L3’s in charge here—”

     “Now you speak my language!” L3 rejoiced.

     “—but I need you to steer while she calculates the hyperspace jump.”

     Luke nodded and sat on the pilot’s chair. He had never piloted an YT model before but like he had said, he could fly anything. Though judging from the swearing and screams of “OUCH!” Leia and Lando probably did not appreciate his evasive maneuvers that much. But it wasn’t as if Luke had a choice, they still had two TIE Fighters coming at them and he and L3 weren’t enough to shoot them.

     “Can anyone take up either of the guns?!” Luke shouted into the comlink.

     “ _We’re a little bit busy at the moment!_ ” Lando answered. “ _Send Artoo here, Leia and I aren’t enough!_ ”

      Artoo rolled down and after some more swearing Lando told them to punch it. L3 pulled the hyperdrive switch and this time the stars distorted into silvery lines. The jump was a success. They had managed to escape.

 

* * *

 

Once they were out of the imminent danger, Luke excused himself out of the cockpit of the _Millennium Falcon_. Maybe it wasn’t the best behavior (he could practically hear the scolding from one of his old tutors), but he needed a moment, and with the day he’d had and no one to tell him otherwise it was safe to retreat for a while. Besides, L3-37 had teamed up with Artoo against Threepio for one reason or another and the noise was deafening.

     Luke wandered along the corridors and noted that for a rather old YT model the ship was remarkably well-kept. The walls were truly pristine, gleaming white, but it wasn’t clinically pure. The ship had the air that people lived there. It was… cozy, in a way.

     The corridor turned and Luke realized that instead of the main hold he was looking at what he assumed to be Lando’s private quarters. Well, not like it could’ve been anyone else’s. Probably not the place he ought to have ended up in, though. Luke rubbed the back of his neck. Better to head back, see if the others needed him. Ahsoka Tano had taken a rather bad hit on her back while dueling with Darth Vader and though she had been conscious the last time Luke had taken a look her, she needed proper medical attention. Luke turned to head back the way he came when something inside the cabin caught his eye.

     Luke frowned and his curiosity took the better of him. Surely he had seen wrong, there was no way there was enough room on this ship… but there it was. His eyes hadn’t betrayed him. It really was a walk-in closet full of capes for every occasion imaginable. It reminded him so much of home that before Luke even realized he had stepped inside to take a closer look.

     The first impression Luke got was that Lando had the best sense for aesthetic he had ever seen, as not a single cape felt out of place, even when the colors didn’t complement each other. One particularly fetching silvery cape especially caught Luke’s eye. It was made of silk, he supposed as he gently touched it, but even more than that its design was Alderaanian, or at least very close to the traditional design his father had favored and that Luke had come to favor as well.

     And now his home was only atoms, completely obliterated, and try as he might Luke couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to have been more he could’ve done to save Alderaan, to save his family.

     “Like what you see?”

     Luke jumped. Lando leaned against the doorframe with a grin. Luke had a brief thought of opening the _Falcon’s_ boarding ramp and flinging himself into the space. Upon first meeting Lando, Luke had briefly —very briefly— thought that he was very handsome, but somehow now that they were out of imminent danger it became even more obvious.

    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Luke answered, feeling like his face was burning up.

     Lando shook his head. “You didn’t. I’d keep this place locked if it was absolutely private. But you didn’t answer my question. Like what you see?”

     “Some of these are really exquisite,” Luke commented with a nod, looking back at the capes, “and I have to compliment you on your sense for aesthetic. You’ve got a good eye for color.”

     “Thanks,” Lando said, and there was that winning smile of his again and Luke had to struggle to keep his expression neutral. “Can I have that as a written document?”

     “Why do you need one?”

     “I’m gonna rub it in my ex’s face the next time I see him, literally,” Lando said, crossing his arms. “Would you believe he had the gall to say I have too many capes?”

     Given that it seemed that Lando had more capes than Bail Organa had had, the realistic answer would’ve probably been yes. Luke chuckled and promised to write the document the first moment he had the chance to.

     “Something on your mind?” Lando asked after a moment of silence where neither of them made any gesture to leave the closet. So on top of being ridiculously attractive he was also perceptive? Great, didn’t make this anymore awkward at all, Luke thought with no small amount of sarcasm.

     Luke sighed and closed his eyes. “In a way… this closet reminds me of home. My father had one very close to this.”

     “Oh.”

     Normally Luke wouldn’t have talked about what had happened to someone he had just met that day, but just then the dam broke and everything spilled out. “They made me watch it. They made me watch how they obliterated my home and killed my parents and everyone I knew with that battle station. And I couldn’t do anything. I tried to lie, give them another location. I was willing to have another planet destroyed to save mine, and they went and did it anyway.”

     The next thing Luke knew Lando was hugging him. Luke took several shaky breaths, breathing in what must have been Lando’s cologne (a very pleasant and warm smell, though not one he was able to put a name on). It was funny, Luke had known this man only for a few hours and during that time they had insulted each other and managed to nearly get killed several times, and here Lando was, comforting him like it was the most natural thing in the galaxy. It felt… really nice, actually.

     Luke sighed, leaning his head against Lando’s shoulder. “At least the information Artoo’s carrying is still intact.”

     “You know, I was never told why he’s so important,” Lando said. “What’s he carrying?”

     “The technical readouts of that battle station,” Luke answered. “I only hope that when the data’s analyzed a weakness can be found.”

     “I’m sure you’ll get a chance to get back at them,” Lando said, and despite his words his tone was soothing. “I’m getting you and that R2 unit to your base on Yavin 4, just like I promised Commander Tano, and if they need me to, I’ll stay and help take out that battle station.”

     Luke moved back a bit so he could look Lando in the eye. “Are you sure? You’ve already risked so much for someone you didn’t even know.”

     Lando nodded. “I owe Commander Tano my life, twice, and while I have done a lot of questionable stuff in my life I don’t take life debts lightly. I’m getting all of you to the Rebel Base safe and sound. Besides, it’s not as if there’s any love lost between me and the Empire. And, if I’m quite honest,” he winked, smiling again, “I like a little risk.”

     Luke had to chuckle at that. Oddly enough that was a rather sweet thing to say. This was the warmest Luke had felt in a while. In a way he felt like a moth being drawn to a flame. Everything about Lando was captivating, and…

     Someone cleared their throat. Luke and Lando jumped apart to see Leia, a small smile playing on her lips. She seemed to be doing alright, considering she had mentioned that her aunt and uncle had very recently been murdered by stormtroopers. Just how many lives did the Empire have to ruin?

     “You two are really deep in that closet,” Leia said, and Luke’s face suddenly felt very hot. Lando seemed unfazed, probably having been caught doing far worse in more compromising places.

     “What’s wrong?” he asked.

     “L3 asked after you,” Leia answered. “Well, to be exact she asked after ‘her organic overlord’, and I assumed she meant you.”

     Lando groaned and grumbled something Luke couldn’t figure out as he made his way back to the cockpit.

     After a moment of silence Leia nudged Luke with a sly grin. “So… anything you wanna share with me or…?”

     Luke scoffed. “There’s nothing to tell. He was just being kind, that’s all.”

     Leia rolled her eyes but didn’t press the matter, thankfully. Instead she ran her hand through her short hair and said, “Anyway, I was looking for you as well. Ahsoka wants to talk to us both, says she has something very important to tell us.”

     “Alright,” Luke nodded. “Best not keep her waiting then.”

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka sucked a breath. The life support in the _Falcon’s_ medbay kept the wound in check and she wasn’t in too much pain, but she needed proper medical care. How she was still conscious, she wasn’t sure. In her time she had seen similar wounds render Jedi more powerful than her comatose for weeks.

     “You wanted to talk to us?” Luke asked.

     Ahsoka nodded and pushed herself up on the medbay so she could look Leia and Luke in the eye. “This is going to be big, so please, let me finish.” Please let them understand. “Leia, Luke… you are twins.”

     There, now it was done. The easy part was out. After nearly twenty years, the truth was finally seeing the light.

     There was a long silence. Leia’s face went from dumbstruck to what Ahsoka took for relieved in a couple of moments. Luke, in turn, was gaping and trying to form words.

     “How?” he managed to ask finally.

     “Your mother, Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, died shortly after giving birth to you,” Ahsoka answered. She had practiced this story many times, but now that she actually had to tell it… words were hard to find. “It was at the end of the Clone Wars. Senator Bail Organa had rescued first Master Yoda on Coruscant, and then me on Mandalore, and we went looking for other survivors of the Jedi Purge. We found Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and your mother near the Mustafar system. They had gone after your father. She was experiencing complications and… we couldn’t get her the medical aid she needed.”

     Ahsoka paused to take a breath. The memories were flooding her mind, from good to bad to horrible. Since that day on Polis Massa she had wondered what she could’ve done differently to change things, to stop Anakin. But now… Ahsoka looked at the twins and saw so much of both Padmé and Anakin in them. Everything that had been good about them was now standing in front of her.

     “You both were very strong with the Force from birth, so to keep you safe and make sure the Empire wouldn’t connect you to your birth parents, the four of us decided to separate you. Bail agreed to adopt you, Luke.”

     Luke nodded. “I always knew I was adopted, my father told me I was orphaned at the end of the Clone Wars. I just… had no idea I had a twin sister.”

     Ahsoka smiled weakly. “We also agreed that the less you’d know about each other growing up, the safer it would be for both of you. And you, Leia, I took on Tatooine to your aunt and uncle. Master Yoda and Obi-Wan went into hiding. I haven’t seen either in years. But we knew you’d meet again one day.”

     Leia and Luke glanced at each other, both smiling.

     “It sure was some meeting,” Leia said.

     “There’s more,” Ahsoka continued. Here comes the hardest part. “The Sith lord I battled just now.”

     “Darth Vader,” Luke interjected with a bitter tone. “Not someone you’d like to know.”

     Ahsoka closed her eyes, holding back tears. “The thing is, he wasn’t like that always. Many years ago, he was my Jedi Master, Anakin Skywalker.”

     Leia gasped.

     “Your father.”

 

* * *

 

There were only so many places in the _Falcon_ to retreat into, so the cargo bay had to make do. Leia breathed into her hands, her father’s old lightsaber lying on her thighs, trying to process what Ahsoka had told her and… her brother. She had a brother. It was the only thing that kept her calm. Luke had agreed to give her space while he looked after Ahsoka. The news had been a shock to both of them.

     Just a few hours ago Leia had battled her father, no matter how briefly. And judging from his reaction he had no idea of their relation. He probably didn’t know about Luke either. Oh, stars, their father had tortured Luke, had almost killed Ahsoka, had caused so much terror to the entire galaxy…

     “Leia?”

     Leia looked up from her hands at Luke. Luke sat next to her on the crate and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

     “Ahsoka’s sleeping now,” Luke said, “and Lando says we’re a couple of hours away from Yavin 4.”

     Leia nodded. “Okay. Good.”

     “That’s a lightsaber, isn’t it?”

     Leia clipped the lightsaber back on her belt. “Yeah. Ahsoka had it for years. It belonged to… to him.”

     “Oh.”

     They sat in silence for a good while. Leia sensed that neither of them wanted to address the truth about their biological father, and it suited her just fine. She needed a lot more time to process it.

     “I’m glad you came for me,” Luke said suddenly. “I thought I was gonna die there. I felt like I had nothing left to fight for. And now I have you.”

     Leia managed a weak smile. “After the Empire got my aunt and uncle killed, I also thought I had nothing left. I wasn’t even gonna leave Tatooine until I saw my home burning. And when I saw you, I… I felt warm. Now I know why.”

     Leia shuffled on her seat so she could hug Luke easier. “I’ve always wanted a brother.”

     Luke’s thumb rubbed Leia’s shoulder. “I always dreamed of having a sister.”

     The twins stayed in the cargo bay, telling each other stories about their daily lives on Tatooine and Alderaan. When Lando finally a few hours later came to tell them that they had arrived to Yavin 4 Leia had learned a great deal about Alderaanian customs and that Luke had been the youngest senator ever elected to the Imperial Senate. In turn she had told about what she had liked the best about Tatooine. There weren’t a lot of good things, but now that they were gone… Leia didn’t miss just her aunt and uncle. Tatooine was an arid hellhole, but she had had good friends there (Camie had been on her way to become something more), and the binary sunset had been one-of-a-kind. And she had had a happy, safe childhood.

     Yavin 4, one of the moons orbiting the gas planet Yavin, was nothing like Leia had imagined. It was so green. Having only seen endless desert in her life, all that green was… Leia had no words for it. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.

     “I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy,” Leia said softly as they started to make their careful approach towards the moon’s surface.

     “Well, we made it,” Lando stated. “I’d call that a pretty good rescue.”

     “They might be tracking us, though,” Luke put in. “I think they would’ve given us an even harder time to escape if they weren’t. It was too easy.”

     Lando shook his head. “Not this ship. This ship has been impossible to track for years.”

     “This is the Empire we’re talking about.” Luke rubbed his forehead. “Never mind, let’s just land. We need to get Ahsoka in a bacta tank as soon as possible.”

 

* * *

 

Once they had landed, the medical staff led by Doctor Larte arrived on board and Luke explained the situation to them. Upon seeing Ahsoka Doctor Larte looked like she had seen a ghost, but nonetheless helped her on a hover-stretcher and took her to the medical quarters of the base.

     There was a full welcoming committee outside, General Hera Syndulla at the lead. Luke saw some other familiar faces as well; General Dodonna, General Draven, Admiral Ackbar, Shara Bey, Wedge Antilles, Evaan Verlaine (thank goodness Evaan had been on a surveillance mission rather than on Alderaan, at least someone had survived)… they were all there. If only his parents could’ve been there as well.

     “You’re safe,” said General Syndulla and hugged Luke with one arm as best as she could while avoiding her pregnant belly. Of course she wouldn’t let anything get in the way of the Rebellion. “When the news of Alderaan came to us, we feared the worst. I’m so sorry, Luke.”

     “Thank you, General,” Luke answered, swallowing back what tears threatened to pour down, “but we don’t have the time to grieve them just yet. Artoo has the Death Star plans, and I’m also fairly sure that we were tracked here, despite what Captain Tall, Dark and Cocky here says.” He pointed at Lando with his thumb.

     General Syndulla frowned. “Captain who… _you_.”

     Lando spluttered. “Oh, shit.”

     “How did you get into this?” General Syndulla asked, her voice almost a hiss. Luke raised an eyebrow at Lando who was suddenly very interested in the color of Yavin 4’s sky.

     “I, uh…” Finally Lando looked General Syndulla in the eye. “I owed Commander Tano a favor and originally I was supposed to take her and Artoo to Alderaan, but when that plan blew up— no pun or offense intended,” he added quickly to Luke who shook his head, amused, “I ended up in the craziest rescue operation in the history.”

     General Syndulla looked over Lando’s shoulder and smirked. “Still flying that pile of junk?”

     “Excuse you,” said L3 who clearly _had_ taken offense. “As if yours is any better. I don’t recall the _Ghost_ making the Kessel run in twelve parsecs.”

     General Syndulla sighed deeply and retreated back to the temple with Artoo without a reply. They had to analyze Artoo’s information as quickly as possible. If the _Falcon_ had been tracked, it meant that Yavin 4 was the Empire’s next target.

 

* * *

 

Lando pushed another crate of supplies into the _Falcon_. Luke had gone to a briefing about the Death Star plans, and Leia was in the medbay looking after Ahsoka. There wasn’t anything for Lando to do, and the higher-ups had been reluctant to let a civilian take part in the upcoming attack, so he had requested some supplies for his return journey to Cloud City. It was fine. He had done what he had promised. Okay, the Alderaan part had failed but it hardly was his fault the planet had been destroyed. But the rest had been a success. The Alliance had the Death Star plans. He could just go home now.

     Lando returned to get the final crate and definitely _did not_ fret over the thought that if the Rebel Alliance failed to destroy the Death Star the entire galaxy was in danger. It was not his concern at the moment, he had to think about Cloud City, he’d already been away from home for far too long, and—

     “Lando?”

     Lando jumped. Luke had changed into bright orange pilot’s fatigues (a very unflattering color on him; whoever had designed the fatigues clearly had no sense of aesthetic) and was holding a helmet. So, he was going to fight. Truth be told Lando wouldn’t have expected anything less from Luke, even if he didn’t like the idea of Luke up there.

     “Yes, Your Highness?”

     Luke shook his head. “Stop that, please. I… I need to ask you a favor.”

     Lando raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you need?”

     “I… they found a weakness in the Death Star,” Luke said. “A small ventilation shaft. I already volunteered to attack.”

     “So I can see,” Lando stated, looking at Luke from head to toe. “What do you need me to do? That rude general of yours, Draven, already told me I should leave.” General Draven’s words had been more like _leave now and never come back_ , at least in subtext.

     “Yeah, I heard,” Luke answered. “I was just wondering… could you take Leia with you? If things go wrong with the Death Star, I’d rather she was nowhere around.”

     “Okay.” Lando sounded skeptical. “I don’t think she’ll come voluntarily. She’s not exactly one to avoid confrontation, your sister.”

     “I know,” Luke sighed. “It’s just… I’ve lost so many people in a very short time. I don’t wanna lose her too.”

     Lando nodded and patted Luke's shoulder. “Leia doesn’t exactly need anyone to keep her safe, but I’ll do it. Just… promise me _you_ won’t do anything stupid and reckless while we’re gone.”

     “Okay,” Luke said. “I promise.”

     Lando smiled at him. “Good luck with the Death Star.”

     Luke returned the smile with a nod and went back to his X-wing Fighter where Artoo was already waiting for him. Lando looked after him and sighed. There were plenty of other pilots here in the Rebel Base; Luke shouldn’t have had to feel like he had to do this. Luke didn’t have to risk his life like that after everything he’d already done for the Rebellion. Lando could understand the need for justice, but…

     Lando couldn’t finish the thought when L3 said, “You’re kidding me, Lando.”

     “What?”

     “That look on your face,” L3 said and Lando was sure she would’ve rolled her eyes had she been able to do so. “Last time you looked like an abandoned puppy like that was when you and Han part ways. You’re not seriously gonna fall for a pair of pretty eyes all over again?”

     Lando scoffed. “Your words, not mine. And all I did was promise to get Leia out of here. No big deal.”

     “Sure,” L3 grumbled. “Taking a guy’s sister to safety, asking him not to take unnecessary risks… no big deal indeed.”

     Lando knew better than to argue. L3 was right, he just wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of admitting it. Instead he finished loading the supplies and then went to find Leia. If they were to take off safely they had to do it as soon as possible.

 

* * *

 

Leia was not happy to be back on board in the _Falcon_. It was unfair, she had done just as much for the Rebellion as any of them, she could fight. She wanted to fight. But Luke had insisted that she ought to get out of Yavin 4. So there she was now, in the _Falcon’s_ cockpit, curled up in a ball leaning against her knees. Her father’s lightsaber was still tied on her belt and it was burning against her thigh like an angry reminder.

     Right at that moment Luke was probably already fighting against the Death Star. Even with the flaw in its structures, what were the odds that any of the Rebel pilots could get that shot just right? Leia had only just been reunited with her brother and now there was a high chance that she might lose him again.

     Oh, kriff all of it.

     “Turn back.” Leia leaned over Lando’s shoulder, her face only a few inches away from his.

     “What?” Lando blurted.

     “Turn back!” Leia repeated. “Luke’s in danger! I can sense it! We have to help him!”

     “But what about that Death Star?” Lando asked.

     Leia groaned. “Just do it! I’ll be down in the ventral gun.”

     Lando swore under his breath. This was the last time he’d ever risk his neck for people he had just met that day. It just wasn’t worth it. With a deep sigh he turned the _Falcon_ around and headed back to Yavin 4. Leia was lucky that she had asked him and L3 to do it when she did. L3 had still been setting the coordinates to Bespin. Turning back in hyperspace was nigh impossible.

 

* * *

 

The Rebel pilots were in trouble. Only one X-wing had managed to even attempt the run in the trench and shoot the proton torpedoes, but they hadn’t gone in. And after that a TIE Bomber with two Fighters as wingmen had appeared and started to take down Rebel Fighters one by one.

     “ _Red Squad, this is Base One!_ ” General Syndulla’s voice came through the intercom. “ _Pull up immediately and reform for another run across the axis!_ ”

     Luke glared at the TIE Bomber in his scanner. “Who _is_ that guy?”

     “ _It’s Vader_ ,” answered General Syndulla. “ _Luke, pull up, get out of there! That’s an order!_ ”

     “But I’m so close!” Luke insisted. “I can make the shot, General! And he’d be mad to follow me into the trench!”

     “ _Luke, it’s too dangerous, he’s too close— wait._ ” For a second General Syndulla went quiet, and then continued. “ _Wedge, Evaan, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!_ ”

     “ _We’re gonna give Luke some cover!_ ” Wedge Antilles answered.

     “ _Luke’s at the range, he can finish this!_ ” Evaan Verlaine agreed. “ _General, we’re not getting another shot like this. We gotta do this now!_ ”

     General Syndulla’s sigh rattled the comlinks but since she didn’t give any other orders, Wedge and Evaan followed Luke down to the trench, trying to take shots at the TIE Fighters. The Bomber was too fast for them, but if they could just get the Fighters out of the way…

     One of the TIE Fighters broke away from the formation and shot at Wedge’s X-wing. Wedge got a little singed but he was otherwise fine. But he was in no condition to continue the attack.

     “Wedge, go,” Luke said sternly. “And thanks.”

     “ _Sorry, buddy_ ,” Wedge answered and pulled up.

     “Evaan, you need to leave too,” Luke continued, keeping his eyes on the target.

     Evaan didn’t take kindly to that. “ _What?!_ ” she shrieked. “ _No way am I gonna leave you alone!_ ”

     “Don’t argue with me!” Luke exclaimed. “If I go down, you have to keep Alderaan alive! I’m not watching a single more Alderaanian die because of me!”

      Evaan pulled her A-wing up, albeit reluctantly. She took one more shot at one of the TIE Fighters but missed. No matter. Luke was going to make this run. And if Vader went down with him, all the better. This was it.

     One of the TIE Fighters exploded. Luke looked up and couldn’t believe his eyes.

     It was the _Millennium Falcon_. Leia and Lando had come back.

     “ _Good shot, Leia!_ ” Luke heard Lando’s voice in the intercom. Leia’s other shot hit the other TIE Fighter and its collision with Vader’s TIE Bomber sent the latter spinning away. Luke almost laughed.

     “ _You’re all clear, Luke!_ ” Lando announced. “ _Now let’s blow this thing and go home!_ ”

     Luke took a deep breath before shooting the torpedoes. He lingered in the trench long enough to see that they went in. It was done. Luke regrouped with Wedge and Evaan, and together with the F _alcon_ they retreated back to Yavin 4.

     In the distance the Death Star exploded into space dust.

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka woke up slowly. Her joints were aching and there was a dull pain in her back. Her vision took a moment to sharpen, and in the meantime the memories of what had happened came flooding back to her. She had fought Anakin again, and he had almost killed her. That pain was worse than any she had been through in her life.

     Ahsoka tried to pull herself up, but was quickly stopped by a medic who had long, braided black hair. It seemed familiar…

     “Don’t get up yet,” the medic said. “You took a bad hit.”

     Ahsoka blinked. No, she wasn’t dreaming this. It really was her.

     “Kaeden?”

     Kaeden Larte smiled and brushed back the braids that had fallen over her shoulder. “Long time no see, Ahsoka. Didn’t think I’d see you again, like this anyway.”

     Ahsoka still had a hard time wrapping his head around this. Kaeden Larte, that kind girl from Raada who had trusted her against all reason was here now, a fully grown-up medic. There was something in the way she looked at her that Ahsoka couldn’t quite pinpoint. There was longing, and something else too that she couldn’t name.

     Kaeden turned to refill the catheter in silence. Last time they had seen each other, they had been evacuating Raada, many years ago. Back then Kaeden had said that she could’ve kissed Ahsoka, which had taken the Togruta completely off guard. Looking at Kaeden now, the thought came back, but soon the dull pain overwhelmed Ahsoka.

     “What happened?” Ahsoka asked. “Where am I? Where’re the others?”

     “Yavin 4,” Kaeden answered, her eyes glued on the monitor that showed Ahsoka’s vitals. “You were lucky. We got you in a bacta tank right on time, and the hit you took from the lightsaber didn’t get any of your vital organs.”

     Ahsoka grimaced. “Where are my friends?” she repeated.

     Now Kaeden looked back at her. “They’re all right. Luke Organa destroyed the Death Star while you were unconscious. Apparently Leia Skywalker and Lando Calrissian also had a hand in it. And they are,” Kaeden grinned, “in fact, all waiting just outside to see you.”

     Kaeden let the trio in. They were a blur of voices and Ahsoka just about realized that they were asking how she was feeling and then recounting what had happened. There was also going to be a celebration soon. Apparently right after Luke had destroyed the Death Star, Hera Syndulla had gone in labor and given birth to a son. Ahsoka chuckled. Hera sure knew how to make a perfect timing in everything.

     After a while Kaeden ushered the trio out, saying that Ahsoka still needed to rest. Once they were alone again Ahsoka sat up slightly. They had to address the falumpaset in the room at some point, might as well be now.

     “Do you think I could attend the celebration?” Ahsoka asked and immediately wanted to punch herself. That was not what she had meant to ask.

     Kaeden shook her head. “Probably not. I don’t have a lot of information about lightsaber-related injuries but I’d rather keep you here for the rest of the week, just to be safe.”

     Kaeden paused and gave Ahsoka a smile. “Also I’d say we owe each other at least two kisses but I’d rather you were in a better shape first.”

     Well. That took care of that. Not what Ahsoka had expected but she wasn’t going to complain. If Kaeden wanted to kiss her then she had to concentrate on recovery.

 

* * *

 

At some point during the celebration Lando noticed that Luke was nowhere to be seen. Well, not that it was any wonder. While the temple was spacious, more or less the entire Rebel Alliance was now crammed into one of the halls and the noise was deafening. And Luke, if someone, deserved a bit of peace and quiet. Lando grabbed a pair of drinks and went to find Luke, just to make sure he was okay.

     On his way out Lando encountered several Rebel pilots, including Wedge Antilles, who congratulated him for his efforts. In one corner Lando noticed that Leia was talking (and maybe even flirting) with Evaan Verlaine. Lando chuckled. He and Leia were now the biggest heroes in the Rebel Alliance along with Luke. Any alone time was going to be a gift.

     Lando found Luke outside, sitting on the steps of the temple, gazing at the starry sky. He didn’t even flinch when Lando sat next to him.

     “Hi.”

     “Hi,” Luke answered with a small smile.

     “Great shot today,” Lando commended.

     “Thanks.” Luke was silent for a moment. “Thanks for coming back. Your timing couldn’t have been better.”

     Lando patted Luke’s shoulder and passed one of the drinks to him. “That’s what friends are for.”

     They sat in silence for a while, mostly concentrating on their drinks and star-gazing. It was a comfortable silence; when you take down a huge planet-destroying space station together, there really isn’t a lot to say afterwards.

     “See that bright spot over there?” Luke asked, pointing at the night sky over Yavin 4. Lando leaned in and followed Luke’s finger. The “bright spot” wasn’t big but it was clearly visible, brilliant blue.

     “Yeah?”

     “That’s Alderaan. We’re so far away from the core worlds that from here it looks like it’s still there.”

     Lando wound his arm around Luke’s shoulder. Luke leaned his chin against his knees and sighed. Somehow he was holding it together, even though all he really wanted to do was cry.

     “When I see it like this, I keep thinking that maybe I just imagined it being destroyed and if I just start flying towards it, it will still be there. Everyone’s still there. My home, my friends, my parents…”

     “Oh Luke,” Lando said softly and hugged him. “At least you destroyed the Death Star. You gave Alderaan justice.”

     Luke shook his head. “Doesn’t bring anyone back though.”

     Lando was about to pull back when Luke sat up straighter and then leaned against his shoulder. Neither of them made any move from there, and that made Lando relax as well. This was… rather nice. Lando kept his arm around Luke and it was greater comfort than anything else in the galaxy.

     “I just wanted to finish the mission and go home,” Luke said with a barely audible voice. “And now it’s gone. I might’ve got some closure in taking down the Death Star but Alderaan is still gone.”

     “You know,” Lando said, “piloting isn’t actually my day job anymore, or smuggling for that matter. I took this job because I owed Ahsoka a favor. I’m actually the Baron Administrator of Cloud City.”

     Luke glanced at Lando, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Really?”

     “Yep.” Lando smiled. “And… well, if we survive this war, I… you’d always be welcome there. If you want, that is. Cloud City is no Alderaan, but… it could be home.”

     For a moment Luke was too dumbstruck to speak. That was more than he could’ve ever expected from someone he had only known for a couple of days. It was more than Lando had ever thought he’d offer to someone he’d only recently met as well.

     “Thank you, Lando,” Luke said finally. “That’s… so kind of you.”

     Lando waved his hand in a dismissing manner. “Oh, nonsense. I’m acting purely on self-interest here because I might wanna spend more time with you.”

     “No, that’s not it, not completely anyway,” Luke protested with a smile. “You’re really not half the scoundrel you think you are.”

     “How would you know?” Lando asked with a teasing grin. “I don’t think you have that many scoundrels in your life, Luke.”

     “And how would _you_ know _that_?” Luke retorted.

     Lando chuckled. “Well, I don’t, but I very much doubt you had the chance. Princes like you are always sheltered and—”

     Whatever Lando was going to say next was drowned when Luke kissed him out of the blue. It was only for a few seconds but it was amazing. Lando didn’t know what he might’ve expected, but Luke was a good kisser. There really was more to him than met the eye.

     “Was that sheltered for you?” Luke asked when they parted.

     “Touché,” Lando said and leaned back in, in hopes for another kiss. A longer one this time.

     “Here you are!” Leia exclaimed and climbed over to sit next to Luke. “I’ve been looking all over for you two.”

     Lando couldn’t help but plant his palm on his face, and next to him Luke was laughing. Leia’s eyes darted in between the two of them.

     “What?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

     “Nothing,” Lando answered. He sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Leia that he had just kissed her brother. Or rather, Luke had kissed him, but still. They would figure this out between the two of them later.

     Leia made a face at them but leaned against the steps of the temple with her drink. “Well, anyway, you’re missed at the party. Senator Mon Mothma herself wanted to talk to both of you.”

     “She can wait until tomorrow,” Luke said. “Right now I’d just like to spend some time with you two.”

     “Me too,” Lando agreed and raised his glass. “To a beautiful friendship between us three.”

     Luke and Leia laughed but raised their glasses as well.

     The three of them sat in silence for a long time after that, gazing upon the night sky. They had won a battle, but the war was still raging across the galaxy and was far from over. But for now the trio leaned against each other, finding comfort and relaxed into the sounds of celebration.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated ♥

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Another Kind of Hope [ARTWORK]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18706348) by [Sweven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweven/pseuds/Sweven)




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